Problematika etnicity a oral history – možnosti výzkumu na příkladu rusínské a ukrajinské menšiny
Ethnicity and oral history - possibilities of research based on Ruthenian and Ukrainian minorities

Summary/Abstract: Ethnic identity is an integral part of human identity for a majority population. Conversely, members of national minorities are historically confronted with oppression and abuse. The specificity of the Ruthenian and Ukrainian minorities lies in their social and political circumstances, which after the Second World War merged them into a single entity; resulting in assimilation, and problems with self identification and disputes over their organizational and institutional backgrounds. Through our chosen method of exploration, oral-historical research helps to identify the individual stories of people, which will fill in the gaps in the knowledge of the complex problem of the Ruthenian and Ukrainian minorities. In connection with the specific focus of the article - the analysis of selected attributes of ethnic identity - we may define the chosen method as ethnic oral history. After the collapse of the Communist regime in 1989, since it regained the same rights as other national minorities in the territory of (Czecho) Slovakia, the process of uncovering past injustices of the Ruthenian minority started. In addition to the renewed cultural institutions, a discourse was opened in the public space with a number of questions: Who is Ruthenian and who is the Ukrainian? How are they different from each other? How do they deal with their identity? Are they one minority or two? What challenges are they are facing today? What are their cultural traditions and how are they different from one other? Are they transferring their culture onto the next generation? The common and distinct features of the Ruthenian and Ukrainian minorities are now known and are constantly elaborated on within projects, but the testimonies of the people, the direct witnesses of the time and their individual stories are missing in such context. The evidence of time is an irreplaceable source of knowledge that complements the overall character of the historical image of the Ruthenian and Ukrainian minorities. We are currently experiencing a steady decline in the number of the Ukrainian minority, and as an ageing minority it is necessary to create social pressure to get as many testimonies from it as possible. The article is based on annual research in which the material was collected and subsequently analysed.

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